Our Baby's First
by Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
Summary: Life in the Tracy household was never quiet. There was always some form of chaos taking place. The form of chaos taking place now was the impending birth of Jefferson and Lucille Tracy's newest baby. Follow the family as they encounter many firsts in baby Alan's first year of life. Rated T for childbirth.
1. Special Delivery

Life in the Tracy household was never quiet. There was always some form of chaos taking place. The form of chaos taking place now was the impending birth of Jefferson and Lucille Tracy's newest baby. The nursery was nearly done, and the family was preparing the room for their newest member. Clear plastic was taped to the floor and paint cans were strewn all over. The painter and his assistant were currently removing their tools from the room so they could reveal the finished product to the expectant mother and father.

"Are you excited Lucy?" Jeff walked behind his wife with his hands clasped gently over her eyes. He had employed a couple contractors to add on a small room for the newest addition to their family and he'd also hired painters to come in and decorate for the new baby.

"Jefferson, I know they've been painting in there." Lucy giggled slightly at her husband's actions. He seemed to be extremely excited over the birth of their fifth child. Both of them had their fingers crossed for a girl, but they both agreed that another boy would be fine too. So far the name choices were for a girl: Anastasia Sophia Tracy while for a boy it would be: Alan Shepard Tracy

"I know that. But are you excited about seeing the finished product? I know I can't wait to see what the design looks like. Remember, we informed the painters we wanted it to be gender neutral. I don't know what they deem to be gender neutral." Jeff chuckled softly over their situation.

Jefferson and Lucille Tracy were expecting their fifth child. The reason they say child was because they had no idea whether the baby was to be a girl or a boy. They had gone in for the ultrasound to find out, yet their newest baby seemed to be shy or incredibly stubborn. He or she refused to show what they were to the technician and expectant parents. The baby always managed to keep their legs crossed and hide their gender during each appointment. It got to the point that both the mother and father gave up on knowing what their baby was going to be…the baby wanted to remain a surprise.

"You know I am. But then I just want to begin setting up the crib and preparing for his birth." Lucille placed her hands over her husband's hands.

"Him, you sound so sure that we are having another boy." Jeff leaned down next to Lucille's head and whispered in her ear.

"I call the baby a he, because we already have four boys…what's one more? I just have a feeling that your mother is right in her belief that it is another baby boy." Lucille smiled warmly. Instinct told her it was a boy as well as her mother in law; Lucille was planning on decorating the nursery with boy themed items. But she would need to get to it soon. The baby was due to be born in about seven weeks. Rounding the corner, Jeff stopped and Lucille who was holding her husband's arm stopped too. The expectant parents held in a bated breath.

"Mr. & Mrs. Tracy, I am pleased to present you with the finished painting in your new baby's room." The painter stood in front of the closed door. He wanted to keep it a secret up until he presented it to the family. Jeff and Lucille had been fine with the surprise painting because as they explained to the painter…this newest baby was a surprise in and of itself. A surprise pregnancy as well as a surprise gender, as the baby was not cooperating when revealing its gender.

"Thank you Fredrick, please show us the room." Jeff beamed. He was excited to see the room.

"It would be my pleasure Mr. Tracy." Fredrick smiled at the parents and slowly opened the door. Jeff still covering Lucille's eyes directed her to watch her step and together they entered the newest nursery. It was nearly finished. All it needed was furniture and toys…then the baby to complete the room.

Jeff gasped as he gazed at his newest baby's room. He removed his hands from Lucille's eyes and she too gasped upon seeing the room. Jeff stepped up beside his wife and looked down at her to see she had tears in her eyes. The room was beautiful. It was painted in soft earth tones, the walls being a warm golden brown and little woodland creatures being painted together all over the room. The ceiling was an off white and the border near the ceiling was powder blue.

"Do you like it?" Fredrick entered the room and upon seeing Lucille's eyes filled with tears panicked. He was afraid the room was not to their liking. He calmed when the expectant parents smiled warmly.

"I love it! Thank you Fredrick!" Lucille brushed her tears away, smiling warmly at the painter. He was an old friend from high school and he claimed to feel honored when Lucille and Jeff asked him to paint their newest baby's nursery.

"You are an exceptional painter Fredrick. Thank you for doing this for us. It is perfect." Jeff continued to look around the room with a smile. He couldn't wait to set up the crib and get the room finished. They had a crib and all the fixings for the room, but they hadn't wanted to set it all up until the nursery was finished being built and painted.

"I'm glad sir. I appreciate the opportunity given to me." Fredrick smiled back at the happy parents.

"Fredrick…you've known me since high school. Please stop with the sir and Mr. Tracy." Jeff clapped his old friend on the shoulder.

"Okay Jeff." Fredrick blushed. Even after knowing Jeff since high school and meeting Lucille who accompanied her husband to the ten year class reunion, he hadn't yet gotten used to being complimented for his art or referring to his old friend by his first name. In high school, he had called Jeff by the nickname that had been given to him by their group of friends.

"Now, let's negotiate payment." Jeff left Lucille in the nursery. She was sitting in the rocking chair that had been placed in there prior to the painting taking place.

Lucille felt a small twinge, but brushed it off. It was directed more towards her back, so she figured it was simply the muscle strain of having a large belly. She was extremely heavy with child and with this being the last birth that was planned, Lucy wanted to take advantage of having a midwife and experiencing a homebirth. It was without a doubt going to be the type of experience she would never forget.

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At thirty five weeks pregnant, Lucille Tracy was finding sleep evasive. She couldn't find a comfortable position no matter how she lay and it was really beginning to get on her nerves. Lying on her sides put her back in a pinch and lying on her back made her stomach cramp. So, Lucille was reduced to sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery…rocking back and forth trying to ease the ache in her back and lower stomach.

She gently rubbed her stomach and hummed. She was doing needlepoint to try to make herself tired. She couldn't really explain it. Not only was she unable to get comfortable in bed, but she had boundless energy. She figured after her busy day that she would undoubtedly sleep, but no. She vacuumed, swept, mopped. She washed the dishes, put them away. Washed and folded the laundry. Rearranged the nursery and cleaned her four son's rooms while they were away at school. She didn't know what her problem was. Not even the chamomile tea worked to ease her off to sleep.

Lucille set her needlepoint off to the side. Her back and lower stomach was really starting to bother her. She inhaled deeply when a sharp spasm hit. She held her breath for the duration and let it out when the spasm eased off. These spasms had been going on all day. Lucille hadn't mentioned to Jeff that she was having Braxton Hicks contractions, because she didn't want to alarm him. They were Braxton Hicks after all, no sense in causing panic for something totally natural.

Feeling slight fatigue, Lucy figured now was as good a time as any to try to return to bed. Standing up, Lucy held her arms out to the side to gain her balance before walking and gasped sharply when a splash of water fell at her feet. She paused, her eyes widening at the realization of what had just happened. Looking down slowly, she saw the puddle on the linoleum floor. It was clear, and wide spread. Her water had just broken.

Slowly, Lucille eased herself back into the rocking chair. Her nightgown was dripping wet and her slippers were soaked. Taking a deep breath, Lucille tried to figure out if she could make it back to the bedroom where her husband slept. They would need to call the midwife and quick. As Lucille tried to stand she was dismayed when a contraction hit. It was strong, much stronger than what she was experiencing earlier. It practically took her breathe away.

As the contraction eased off, Lucille had to sit for a few moments to gather herself. This was real and it was happening. The baby was coming and there was no stopping it. Taking another deep breathe, Lucy heaved herself out of the rocking chair and stood up straight. Shuffling slowly, she made it to the door of the nursery before another contraction hit.

Gripping the door frame tightly, she groaned quietly. The contractions were progressively getting stronger. She knew from her previous births that labor sped up when the amniotic sac was broken, and she knew she would be in trouble if she didn't get to her husband soon. Breathing through the contraction, Lucille's grip on the door frame eased as the contraction ebbed away. That was how labor felt for her; it was like the water in the ocean or a lake.

The moment she was sure the contraction had gone, she slowly made her way towards her bedroom. Jeff was in there and he could contact their midwife. Upon opening the door to their bedroom, Lucille had to stop. Another hard contraction had just hit. It made her weak in the knees, so weak in fact that she slowly eased herself to the floor. Leaning against the frame, Lucy breathed through the contraction. The moment it was over, Lucille began calling from the door to her husband.

"Jeff. Jeff wake up!" Lucy tried not to call for her husband to loudly. She didn't want to awaken her other four children whose rooms were around the corner from the master bedroom.

"Lucy? What's the matter?" Jeff sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. It was two in the morning and he had to be up to go into work at five. He didn't notice his wife's current condition or position from the looks of things.

"I need you to call Janine. It's time!" Lucille rubbed her hand across her abdomen. There was a cramp building up and she knew she was about to have another contraction. It was only a matter of time.

"Why?" Jeff yawned deeply. His eyes were barely open, and he couldn't see Lucille sitting in the doorway without lights. Leaning over, he turned on his bedside lap and quickly shot out of bed upon seeing his wife sitting on the floor. "Lucy! What are you doing on the floor?"

"My water…it broke." Lucille cut off the conversation as she went into another contraction. Jeff offered his hand to her and she gladly took it and squeezed tightly.

"How long?" Jeff winced at the pressure of Lucille's grip. For such a small woman, she certainly had a strong grip. Lucille let out a shuddering breath as the contraction eased off. The contractions were getting closer.

"I think they are about five to ten minutes apart." Lucille grimaced as she felt another contraction building up. If she predicted correctly, it would hit in the next four minutes.

"Okay, hold tight. I am going to run downstairs to get my cell phone." Jeff stood from his kneel and stepped over Lucille. He turned on the hall light and raced downstairs. He located his cell phone in the kitchen on the counter. Unplugging it from the charger, he quickly turned it on. As it started up, Jeff ran back upstairs. He had to get Lucille up off the floor and into bed.

Upon entering the master bedroom, Jeff was greeted with Lucille curling over her belly. She seemed to be experiencing another contraction. After dialing the midwife's number he placed it on speaker. He needed to get Lucille off the floor as soon as the contraction let up. He whispered to Lucille soothingly until she sat back up. Sweat was building up on her forehead. Jeff brushed her bangs from her forehead and gently kissed her temple.

"_Hello?"_ A tired voice answered Jeff's call.

"Hello, Janine. It's Jefferson Tracy. Lucille's water broke and she is having contractions." Jeff couldn't be tired if he tried right now.

"_Are you sure her water has broken?" _Janine questioned. It was not uncommon for families to call when experiencing false labor.

"I…am positive. You…can…check the…nursery…floor." Lucille panted. The pain was increasing and she was unable to sit up any longer. Slowly she eased herself to rest back on her elbows.

"_I'll be there in the next ten minutes. Jeff, get the towels and warm water ready. I will contact the paramedics to remain on standby. This is not good. You are in premature labor, and you may need to be taken to the hospital. Might I suggest you have a family member come over should you need to leave for the hospital?"_ Janine shuffled around quickly and Jeff and Lucille could hear her shutting her front door and starting her car.

"I'll do that as soon as we disconnect." Jeff used the edge of his sleeve and wiped the sweat from Lucille's forehead. He offered her a hand as she grimaced…going into another contraction.

"_Do it now. I will see you in a few minutes. Have your door unlocked and I will just come in."_ Jeff nodded silently before running down the hall. He was trying to be quiet so as to not awaken his four sons, but this was a huge event.

"Done, good bye Janine; see you in a few minutes." Jeff unlocked the front door and turned on the porch light. Jeff disconnected the call with the midwife and immediately called his mother and father.

"_Jefferson Tracy, do you have any idea what time it is?"_ Ruth Tracy answered the call, sleep evident in her voice.

"Mom, I'm sorry for the early morning call but it's kind of urgent. I need you and dad to come over. Lucille went into labor and the midwife is on her way. Janine is worried about Lucille being in premature labor." Jeff hurried back up the stairs.

"_We'll be right there. Let me get your father and we will be there shortly!"_ Jeff could hear his mom muttering to his dad, referring to him as an old coot that had to wake up.

"Thanks mom. Please hurry. Lucille is on the floor right now and I need help getting her up and into bed." Jeff dropped to his knees beside Lucille.

"_We're on our way Jefferson."_ Ruth calmed her frantic son and he could hear his dad grumbling in the background.

After Jeff disconnected the call, he sat by Lucille's side. It was all he could do to not pick up his wife and take her to the hospital, but it was against her wishes. She had convinced him that after this fifth child was born…she wanted to have her tubes tied. She didn't want any more kids. He agreed with her. Five kids was the perfect number for their family. Because of her decision to have a tubal, she wanted to pursue a homebirth complete with a midwife.

Lucille inhaled and exhaled through the contractions, each one occurring about five minutes apart. The laboring process was progressing quickly and in no time at all Jeff heard three sets of feet running up the stairs from the front door. He knew it was the midwife followed by his mom and dad. Hearing the running sets of feet was like an answered prayer.

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Ruth and Jeff together managed to help Lucille up off the floor and back into bed. Grant had gathered the four other now awake Tracy sons in the living room for a movie marathon. Gordon had woken up earlier hearing the commotion and dragging his blankie with him approached his mom and dad's bedroom…but had been intercepted by his paternal grandfather.

"Wrong way sonny. Let's go see if your brothers are up. We can break the rules and have some hot chocolate, but just this once okay." Grant nuzzled the five year old on the head and proceeded to walk around the corner. There closing their bedroom door was Scott and John, comforting a crying Virgil. The seven year old middle son had obviously heard his mother's distressed cries as the contractions progressed.

"Grandpa, what are you doing here?" Scott held his middle brother close to his side and pet his hair. It was futile to try to get Virgil to stop crying. All of the boys had heard a bunch of loud noises followed by a door slamming shut to muffle a woman's scream.

"Well, mommy and daddy needed grandma and me to come tend to you boys. Your little brother or sister is about to be born." Grant reached out a free hand and ruffled Virgil's hair. The seven year old boy had tears shining in his brown eyes, and Grant couldn't help himself. He slowly lowered to his knees, setting Gordon down and gathering all four grandsons into a group bear hug.

"Is mommy going to die?" Virgil sniffled; he hiccoughed and began to whimper when he heard his mother cry out from beyond their bedroom door.

"No, mommy is not going to die. She is just fighting with the stork to free your baby brother or sister from his evil grasp." Grant tried to bring a smile to his grandson's faces, and his little speech had worked. "Now how about we go down and fix up some hot chocolate and sit down to watch "Wreck it Ralph", you boys liked that movie didn't you?"

"Yeah, but won't we get in trouble having hot chocolate after bedtime?" John asked timidly. He didn't want to get in trouble.

"Mommy and daddy gave me special permission to hype you boys up on sugar." Grant winked at the two oldest, getting across to them that he would take the blame for giving them sugar at close to three in the morning.

Grant led his four grandsons down stairs into the kitchen where he pulled five mugs out of the cupboard and adding hot chocolate powder to the bottom before adding hot tap water and warm milk to the mugs. The hot chocolate could stand to be nuked a little in the microwave, but Grant didn't want any of the boys to burn their tongues on the hot liquid.

Putting each of the mugs on a tray, Grant directed his grandsons to sit on the couch, and before he gave them their hot chocolate…he piled blankets up on the four boys and tucked them in. They were sure to fall asleep; all four of them looked exhausted. Grant put the movie on and sat in the recliner beside the couch and watched the movie with the boys. He smiled when within the first thirty minutes each boy slipped off to sleep. The warm hot chocolate had been just the trick to ease them off to sleep, while the movie distracted them from Lucille's cries upstairs.

He watched the remainder of Wreck it Ralph by himself and when it ended, he started the movie over. He would restart it as many times as was necessary to distract the youngsters from getting close to their parent's bedroom where Lucille was laboring. She was already going on two hours so far since her water broke. It would be a few more hours yet before the newest Tracy made his or her debut into the world.

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Jeff sat on the bed beside Lucille and held her hand while he ran a cool damp cloth over her sweaty forehead with the other hand. Lucille was dilated almost 10 cm. after only three and a half hours of labor. Jeff cast a grateful glance at his mother when she reentered the bedroom; she had gone down to check on Grant and the boys in the living room. It had been Jeff's suggestion that should the boys wake up that his dad or mom distract them with a movie and hot chocolate in the living room…well away from the master bedroom.

Jeff gently caressed Lucille's shoulder before pulling a bit of her blonde hair away from her shoulder and kissing her collarbone. She was doing so well. Already she was at approximately nine cm and she had been able to silence her cries for the most part. She only broke just about every bone in Jeff's hand as payback for the pain. Lucille pushed up on her hands, bending her legs at the knees. She panted slightly, a contraction coming on strong.

"I…I feel…like I need…to push!" Lucile ground out as the contraction let up. The midwife came forward and quickly checked Lucille again. She nodded at both Jeff and Ruth; Lucille didn't see the midwife's confirmation that it was decidedly time to begin pushing. She had her eyes closed tightly as she braced for another contraction.

"Lucille…Lucy. You're right, it's time. You are about to meet your son or daughter." Janine spoke softly to the laboring mother. The expectant mother nodded, her brown eyes alight with fear of the unknown. "Don't push; just let your body do all the work. The baby will come when it's ready."

Lucille nodded again. She had been going to a doula as well as the midwife and they were both strong advocates for allowing the baby to come on its own…not forcing it out when it wasn't ready. She felt her stomach muscles tighten and it brought a pained grimace to her face. Her body was trying to naturally ease the baby out of his or her compact home for the last eight months.

"I feel it. It's coming." Lucille grunted out as she resisted the urge to push.

"Okay Lucille. Easy does it. You can do it." Janine sat at the foot of Jeff and Lucille's bed before forcing Lucille open her legs to be examined. "Okay, we have a breech presentation. Lucille, whatever you do, do not push. Not until I give the word." Janine grabbed her cell phone before hitting a number on speed dial.

"Hello, this is Janine Rosenthal, I am a midwife, and I currently have an ambulance on standby for a premature birth. Better dispatch the ambulance, I have a breech presentation and may require oxygen and transport for mother and baby." Janine spoke quickly and professionally before hanging up. It was really happening.

"What is breech?" Jeff had temporarily forgotten what he'd been taught growing up on the farm. The birth of a child made the new father-to-be slightly out of his mind…that combined with the fatigue of decorating the nursery and being woken up at two in the morning.

"The baby is being delivered feet first." Janine peered down, checking Lucille again. "Lucille reach down here, you can feel your baby." Janine grabbed one of Lucille's free hands and directed it down between her legs to grip her baby's feet. Jeff leaned over and peered down. Sure enough the baby's feet were presenting first, instead of head first.

"Ruth, I need you to go keep watch for the ambulance, they will need to bring a stretcher up to transport Lucille and the baby. They both need to be checked out." Ruth nodded at Janine's gentle orders before hurrying out of the room. As much as the new grandma to be wanted to witness the birth of her newest grandchild, she didn't want to keep the paramedics waiting. A premature breech birth had so many factors that could go wrong. It didn't take a rocket scientist to understand the types of complications that come with premature births or breech presentations.

Trekking through the living room, Ruth allowed a soft smile to rise on her face. Grant was asleep and somehow all four boys had piled up in his lap, blankets and all only to fall asleep as well. Grandma Ruth opened the front door and stood watching through the screen door, the ambulance would arrive shortly.

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"I can't do it." Lucille whimpered as a particularly strong contraction hit. She kept resisting the urge to push and she felt her walls of determination begin to crumble.

"Yes you can Lucille. Just stop and breathe. Your baby is right there, in a few moments you can push. I need you to wait until the last shoulder is through before you can push. You are almost through." Janine monitored the baby's progress. At last the left shoulder made it through and Janine began urging Lucille to push. After three or four strong pushes, the baby's head slipped free of the womb.

"Here's your baby Lucille. Good job sweetheart!" Janine praised Lucille for delivering her baby. Quickly Janine retrieved a towel and a nasal bulb to suction the baby's mouth and nose of any remaining fluid. She briskly rubbed the newborn with the towel, trying to prompt the newborn to cry.

"Why isn't she crying?" Jeff sounded frantic at the ensuing silence. The baby had yet to cry, loudly declaring their entrance to the world.

"It's a girl?" Lucille kissed the baby softly on the top of its head. Janine suctioned the baby's mouth and after flicking the newborn's feet, was rewarded with an angered cry from the cold newborn.

"Good job baby!" Janine checked the infant over and smiled in relief when the baby began pinking up. Slowly the midwife checked the baby and smiled ruefully before declaring the baby's gender to the proud parents. "Nope it's not a girl. It's a boy!"

"My baby! Oh my Allie!" Lucille crooned at the newborn, kissing his temple softly relieved to see her newest son. "It's okay, don't cry sweetheart! Shh, mommy is here."

"A boy? My boy! My baby boy!" The disappointment at having another son was short lived as the relief of a so far healthy baby began to sink in. "Lucy, good job sweetheart!"

Jeff rejoiced with Lucille and newborn son in his arms. Now their family was complete. All that was left was for Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon to meet their newest baby brother. Jeff wanted to go skipping down the stairs proclaiming loudly that he had another son, but decided against it in favor of holding his newest baby boy in his arms.

"Hi Alan, I'm your daddy." Jeff whispered softly to the crying newborn. Slowly the crying eased and Jeff was graced with his son opening his bleary blue eyes. "Hi son, it's okay. Don't cry. Daddy is here to protect you." Jeff crooned at the newborn and smiled warmly when the baby yawned. Not even out of the womb for a full ten minutes and already the baby was tired.

The peaceful dawn morning was punctuated by the shrill siren of an approaching ambulance. Jeff sat on the bed beside his exhausted wife and kissed her forehead. He could hear the paramedics coming up the stairs and soon he and his wife with their newborn son would be whisked away to the hospital.

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Grant was startled awake by two unfamiliar voices talking to his wife. Opening his eyes he felt his heart leap into his throat when he observed a couple paramedics wheel a stretcher in from the porch. Ruth was walking ahead of them, talking ninety to nothing. He was only able to pick up snippets of what she said. However, what he heard only served to make him panic. He heard Ruth say something about a breech presentation and Lucille's exhaustion. Those two factors alone were a dangerous mixture.

He looked around to see that all four of his grandsons had crawled into his lap and were fast asleep. Scott was cradling the five year old Gordon to his chest while his own head was reclined back against Grant's shoulder. John on the other hand was laying more sprawled out across Grant and Scott's legs…while he hugged Virgil to him. John's head was pillowed by Grant's arm. Dear old grandpa was irrevocably trapped by his grandsons; all he really wanted was to find out if everything was okay.

Approximately twenty to thirty minutes passed as Grant tried to figure out a way to free himself from the grandparent trap, but it was no use. Grant however froze when he heard the paramedics talking softly, accompanied by a loud infantile wail. Peering through the living room's doorway, Grant could see Lucille strapped to the paramedic's stretcher and she was cradling a small silver bundle. Grant immediately recognized the silver bundle to be a space blanket.

"Dad, after the kids wake up; could you and mom bring the boys to the hospital? I would like for them to meet their new baby brother…Alan." Jeff quietly spoke from the doorway. Not quite willing to venture into the living room and possibly awaken his sons.

"Yeah, absolutely." Grant wanted to ask more, but one of the paramedics approached the still bedraggled father and Jeff hurried out of the house, wearing only his pajamas, housecoat and slippers as they were the proof of his exhausting morning and entire day thus far. Grant sat in stunned silence as he heard the back doors of the ambulance slam closed before the siren began its high pitched cry. He had a new grandson. Another grandson and his name was Alan.

"Grant…he's beautiful." Ruth walked into the living room and sat on the couch across from her husband. "Lucy did such a good job."

"Did I hear you right earlier? Alan was breech?" Grant spoke in a soft voice, unwilling to disturb his slumbering grandsons from their sleep.

"Yes, you did. His feet came out first, but I missed the rest of the birth after that. I came down here to watch out for the ambulance." Ruth brushed a tear from her eye. She was so proud of both Lucille and Jeff.

"Is Lucy okay? What about Alan?" Grant was concerned for his daughter in law and newest grandson.

"They were both doing fine. Janine went with them to monitor Lucy's vitals…but she was pleased that the birth went so smoothly. Lucy is exhausted, but then she has good reason to be…and Alan has a healthy set of lungs on him." Ruth reached over to take Grant's hand in her own. She felt such relief. Nothing had gone wrong with the premature birth of the Alan and both mom and baby were headed to the hospital to get checked out.

"That is like music to my ears Ruth. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that everything went well with the birth. I was worried when I woke up and saw the paramedics, but I know they are in good hands." Grant smiled at Scott, his eldest grandson. The boy must have sensed his grandfather's anxiety over the situation and he nuzzled his grandfather's shoulder before falling into an even deeper slumber. "Looks like I won't be leaving this chair for the next few hours."

Ruth stood up before extracting both Gordon and Virgil from their older brother's grasps and setting them on the couch beside her. She exchanged the movie Wreck it Ralph with some other child appropriate Disney movie and pressed play, before setting both of her two younger grandson's heads upon her lap. She gently pet their hair, and smiled in amusement when the little boy Andy played with his little cowboy doll. She had always adored the movie Toy Story…there was just something about it, she didn't know what it was.

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Scott opened his eyes and was greeted with total silence. Looking around he noticed that he and his brother John were curled up together in the recliner, their grandfather nowhere to be seen. Sniffing appreciatively, Scott untangled himself from the blankets that where wrapped around him and his brother and he slid out of his dad's recliner. He noticed both Gordon and Virgil were lying on the couch, sleeping soundly. Taking another sniff, Scott followed the smell of freshly made pancakes and sausage to the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen however, instead of seeing his mother and father, he was greeted with the sight of his paternal grandmother standing at the stove and his paternal grandfather pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Grandma, Grandpa? What are you doing here?" Scott asked curiously. He couldn't remember if drinking hot chocolate and watching Wreck it Ralph after bedtime was a dream or not.

Grandma Ruth turned around and smiled at her eldest grandson. She motioned with the spatula she was holding to the plate of pancakes and sausage, and Scott recognized the gesture as an order to grab a plate and tuck in to his morning meal. His grandfather grabbed a fork and put two of his grandmother's homemade buttermilk pancakes on a plate before sticking a couple sausage and doing the same. Handing the fork to Scott, Grant grabbed a small glass from the cupboard before pouring orange juice into it. Placing it on the table, Scott sat down and just stared at his grandparents.

"What's going on? Where are mom and dad?" Scott felt worried. His mom would always wake him up for school, and he noticed the clock. He was over two hours late for class, and he hadn't turned in his homework assignment! "I'm late!"

Scott tore into his meal like he hadn't been fed in several days and he paused when both of his grandparents began laughing at his actions. He set down his fork and glared at them. His perfect attendance record was ruined now. All because his grandparents decided not to awaken him and help him get ready for school.

"What is so funny? I am late for school! John, Virgil and Gordy are late too!" Scott jumped out of his chair at the table and raced into the living room to awaken his younger brothers. They had to get up and eat breakfast so they weren't any later than they already were.

"When do you think we should tell them they aren't going to school for the remainder of the week?" Ruth leaned over and whispered to Grant. It was funny to see how flustered Scott was getting over being late for class. He was always prompt and that coupled with his reaction to it being a little after 10 o' clock in the morning, was certainly something to behold.

Scott came running back into the kitchen dragging his three bedraggled little brothers with him and he ordered them to hurry and eat their breakfast. After all four boys sat down at the table to eat, grandpa Grant began to laugh. Ruth found his laughter infectious and she too was absorbed in laughter. All four boys looked at each other, forks poised at their mouths. The joke was totally lost to them.

"What so funny ganma…ganpa." Gordon was confused, his five year old mind not understanding what was so funny. At Gordon's innocent little question coupled with his adorable inability to properly say 'grandpa or grandma', Ruth and Grant began laughing even harder. THe elation they felt was something that could not be rivaled.

"Yeah, what's so funny? I don't get it." John set his fork down on his plate and grabbed his orange juice before taking a sip. He could not understand what was so funny…they were late for school!

"Oh boys. You aren't going to school today." Ruth beamed at her four grandsons, they had no idea that today was a very, very special day.

"What? But why?" Scott gaped at his grandmother. He had to turn in his homework assignment or he'd get a zero and that would be his first 'F' on an assignment.

"We are going into town today. Mommy and daddy are meeting us there." Ruth winked at Grant…the signal to keep quiet as to the surprise. "Don't worry. I called your school and told them you wouldn't be in for the next few days. They agreed to accept your homework next Monday Scotty."

"But we can't go into town if you called us in sick. Isn't that considered playing hooky?" Scott didn't want he or his grandparents to get in trouble with the truant officer.

"No sweetheart. You have good reason to be out of school sick. Finish your breakfast and go get dressed so we can go. It's a surprise." Ruth smiled proudly at her grandsons. They were certainly in for a surprise.

"Okay." Scott prodded his little brothers along as they all finished their breakfast before scampering off to go get dressed. It was very unusual to be out sick and not really be sick.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Scott sat in his usual window seat in his mom and dad's car. They drove through town, and at seeing the school Scott ducked down in his seat. He didn't want to be seen out of school if he wasn't really sick. John, Virgil and Gordon all just stared at their older brother, confusion clear on their faces. Scott was not pleased about missing school for the next couple days, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Grandpa Grant glanced in his rearview mirror and laughed as he noticed Scott ducking down in his seat. It was recess and all of Scott's friends were outside near the fence. It was obvious Scott was afraid his whole family would get in trouble.

"Scott sweetheart…I already told your teachers and your principal that you would be out of school until next Monday. It is fine. You won't get in trouble dear." Ruth tried to reassure her eldest grandson, but smiled bemusedly when Scott sat back up. They were well away from the school yard and now Scott had nothing to fear.

"But I am not sick! How can I not get in trouble when I am playing hooky? Shouldn't I have a doctor's note if I am going to be out of school for the next week?" Scott folded his arms across his chest in exasperation.

"No dear. Trust me, when you find out what the surprise is…you will be glad to be missing school until next Monday." Ruth looked over her shoulder at each of her grandsons. Gordon was swinging his little legs, trying to kick the driver's seat from his booster seat. Virgil sat beside Gordon's booster seat; he was staring at his feet miserably. He wanted to see his mommy. He had a bad dream…he dreamt that he could hear her screaming, but he couldn't find her.

John sat beside Virgil, behind the passenger seat. He was looking at all the cars driving by them on the four lane road. So far he had counted twenty eight black cars, sixteen red cars and he had seen an unusual yellow car. He was bored. Their grandparents had loaded them into the car almost forty-five minutes ago and they hadn't told them where they were going yet. John broke his gaze to look across to the other side of the car to see Scott, he was pressing his head against the glass.

Scott looked downright miserable and frustrated. Not only did he have no idea where their grandparents were taking them, but he had missed school. And he would continue to miss school for the next week. Heaving a heavy sigh, Scott lifted his gaze alarm crossing his features when he realized they were pulling into the hospital parking lot. Hospitals were never a good place to be.

"Here we are boys." Grandpa Grant parked the car and shut it off, before opening the door and disembarking the vehicle. He opened Scott's car door and held it open to allow Scott to slide out, before he himself leaned in to extract Gordon from his booster seat. The little redhead looked around, he was enthralled. This place was new to him and he viewed it as an adventure.

"What are we doing here grandpa?" Scott asked as he took hold of his grandfather's free hand before walking across the parking lot.

"We are here to introduce you boys to someone very special. Today is his birthday and he has been just dying to meet you boys." Grant winked at Ruth, this was about all they were going to say.

"What his name?" Gordon began sucking on his thumb, Grant removed the boy's thumb from his mouth and held his arms close to his side. The little five year old had picked up sucking his thumb for some reason, and everyone thought it was just a phase…one that came with separation anxiety. Gordon really only sucked his thumb when neither his mom nor dad were in his sight.

"Can't say. It's part of the surprise." Grant released Gordon's arms in favor of ruffling his hair. The little redhead giggled at the affectionate hair tousling and wrapped his arms around his grandfather's neck.

The sliding doors opened and in walked the Tracy family. Grant lagged behind a little so Ruth could get ahead of him. She approached the front desk and carried on a quiet conversation with the nurse before turning and motioning for everybody to follow her. Grant lead his grandsons to Ruth and as a unit, they embarked through the halls. There were many turns and before anybody realized it they were in an elevator going up to the third floor.

"Are you sure mommy and daddy are up here?" Virgil held onto his grandmother's dress and looked up at the grey haired woman. She nodded at him mutely, and he redirected his gaze back to the floor and his feet. He just wanted to see his mommy. He wanted to know she was alright.

"Just a little further, then you boys can meet the birthday boy. He probably won't say anything, but I am sure he will be happy to see you." Grant pet each of his grandsons on the head, and led the way when the elevator doors opened up…allowing the Tracy family to exit the small cramped room. "There is the room right down there." Grant held up his finger and pointed to the room just down the hall. The door was standing open and Jeff came stepping out…almost sending his family was approaching.

"Hey guys, how did you all sleep?" Jeff crouched down and enveloped all of his sons in his arms. He was glad to see them.

"Okay, but we are missing school. That's okay right?" John spoke up softly. He was like Scott and he didn't want to get in trouble.

"That is just fine. Come on, there is someone very special your mom and I want you to meet." Jeff smiled up at his parents, before standing to give them a hug. He was elated. "You all need to be quiet though. The birthday boy is sleeping right now." Jeff whispered to each of his sons. Lucy had just finished breast feeding the baby and they had been able to get him to go to sleep and they didn't want him to wake up just yet.

"Okay dad." Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon whispered back in reply to their father's order.

Jeff led each of his sons and his parents into the room and up to a hospital bed. There sitting in the bed was Lucille Tracy, she sat there looking as gorgeous as ever, her long blonde hair braided and hanging over her shoulder. However in her arms, a small bundle was laying peacefully.

"You first Scotty." Jeff picked up Scott and set him on the bed up beside his mother and he looked into her arms to see that what she was holding was a baby. Scott's eyes widened and he looked up at his mom and dad with a big smile plastered on his face. This was the surprise?

"Meet your baby brother Alan Shepard Tracy." Lucille spoke quietly to Scott and kissed his cheek when he leaned in closer to his mom's side and the newborn baby.

"Hi, Alan. I'm Scott…I'm your big brother." Scott whispered to the baby. He smiled at his mom and kissed the newborn on the forehead when his mom suggested he do so. His smile grew even bigger when he got to hold Alan. This was way better than being at school. Who cares about homework assignments? This was by far the better option. Colorful dots shone in his eyes after several pictures were taken and his smile never left his face…not even when he had to give up holding Alan to let each of his brothers have a chance.

Jeff picked up John and placed him in Scott's vacated place and the little blonde peeked at the bundle in his arms before he too leaned in to kiss the baby on the forehead. His baby brother was adorable. His smile grew even more when his mom and dad removed the baby's knit hat to reveal his blonde hair. John was ecstatic…now he wasn't the only blonde boy in the house. He beamed with pride when he got to hold Alan and got his picture taken.

"Thank you for being blonde Allie. I love you." John kissed his baby brother again before hugging the newborn gently. The adults in the room practically melted at the heartwarming scene.

Virgil was next to sit on the bed and the first thing the seven year old did was gently pet Alan's face. He was in awe at how soft the baby was. His skin was warm, and smooth. He leaned up into his mom's lap and kissed Alan's cheek. As he leaned away, he felt a gentle tug on his hair. Reaching up to find what was holding onto his head, he felt baby soft hands clutching a lock of his brown hair.

"Looks like he doesn't want you to leave him just yet." Lucille gently untangled the newborn's tiny fingers from his big brother's hair. Jeff perched on the bed beside Virgil before taking the newborn from his mother's arms and holding him…with Virgil settled on the bed beside him. Virgil and Gordon were both too little to hold Alan on their own. For five weeks premature, Alan was heavy. He weighed in at a whopping 5lbs 2oz. That was good. It meant that he could likely go home sooner than most other premature babies.

"What do you think of your baby brother Virgil?" Jeff whispered quietly to his middle son and smiled when he heard the response.

"He's cute…but couldn't he have come with my hair color?" Virgil was disgruntled that his baby brother had blonde hair instead of brown like he and Scott.

"No, he wanted to come with hair to match John. Now you and Scott match while Johnny and Alan match." Jeff handed Alan back to Lucille after the photo of Virgil and Alan was taken. Helping Virgil slide off the bed, he quickly scooped up Gordon and deposited him in the spot where Virgil had just been sitting. "Here you go Gordon."

Gordon looked up at his dad his auburn eyes looking confused. He didn't understand why they had to be quiet, but each time he tried to talk at a normal voice his grandma would cover his mouth, reminding him to whisper. When prompted by his dad, Gordon followed his dad's pointing finger to see his mom holding a miniature person. It was sleeping.

"What is that?" Gordon remembered to whisper, but frowned when his dad coughed unconvincingly to hide the fact that he'd laughed at Gordon's question.

"That is your little brother Alan. Congratulations Gordon…you are now a big brother." Jeff ruffled Gordon's hair gently before taking Alan in his arms again. Gordon peered into the blanketed bundle and looked at the tiny person. He looked like one of those dolls that the little girls in his preschool class brought in for show and tell. Gordon hated those dolls.

"Can you take him back? I don't want one." Gordon was sure the baby in his dad's arms was one of those baby dolls.

"No, no. He is here to stay Gordon. Why don't you like him?" Jeff held Alan in the crook of his left arm and wrapped his right arm around Gordon's shoulder.

"He looks like one of those dolls that the girls bring in for show and tell." Lucille, Jeff, Ruth and Grant all hid their smiles at what Gordon said. He thought Alan was a baby doll…not a real baby.

"Well, I can assure you Gordon, he won't look like this for long. He will grow soon and before you know it the two of you can begin playing together." Jeff turned Gordon's head toward the camera and waited for the picture to be taken.

"Now, let's do a family photo." Ruth whispered, and Grant lifted each of his grandsons onto the bed surrounding their parents, and Gordon moved to stand by Jeff's left shoulder so Jeff could sit beside Lucille. The photo that was taken showed Lucille and Jeff holding Alan together and Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon all surrounded their mom and new baby brother. It was the perfect end to an even perfect day.


	2. Hush Little Baby

Jeff got up at three in the morning as the baby began to cry in the bassinet beside his and Lucille's bed. Lucy was exhausted, she had been insisting on maintaining doing the chores around the house despite having had a baby less than two weeks earlier. Thankfully because Jeff owned his own company, he could afford to work from home intermittently while he took advantage of an extended paternity leave.

"Come on Allie, let's go before you wake mommy. She needs her sleep, you know." Jeff murmured and cooed to the two week old infant and carried him from his and his wife's bedroom. Both Jeff and Lucy decided that until they were certain Alan was healthy and that he wouldn't suffer any long-term effects of having been born five weeks premature in the breech position, they would keep his bassinet in their room so he was close by.

Jeff walked slowly through the hallway, patting the two week olds back, trying to ease the baby's cries. Alan wasn't screaming yet, but he was headed down that route, his cries were picking up in volume and each time he stopped crying he would whimper. Jeff listened to the cry, trying to pick out what type of cry the baby was displaying. It didn't sound like a hungry cry, it sounded like a "you better change my diaper" cry.

Making his way into the nursery, Jeff flicked the light and headed for the changing table. Laying Alan upon the table, Jeff undid the snaps on his little footie pajamas and shuddered when he discovered that Alan would need a bath. Placing a cloth down on the changing table beneath Alan, Jeff swiftly removed the soiled diaper, and tossed it in the diaper bin. Alan's crying increased in volume as the cool air made him cold. Jeff wrapped the cloth around the baby and picked him up, carrying him into the bathroom across the hall.

Jeff filled the bathroom sink with lukewarm water and added some chamomile baby bath soap. Quickly unwrapping Alan, Jeff set the messy baby in the water and picked up a flannel, wetting it and running it over the baby's chest and back. Alan immediately quit crying; he just gurgled and gazed up at his dad, gracing the patriarch with what the father believed to be an occasional gummy grin. Jeff washed Alan thoroughly, and as he drained the water, he noticed Alan becoming sleepy.

"Come on little man, let's get you in a fresh diaper and back to bed hmm?" Jeff picked up a clean dry towel before swaddling the wet baby and carrying him back across the hall to the nursery. He blinked in surprise when he saw Lucille sitting up in the rocking chair, holding a teddy bear that the boys had gotten for Alan from the hospital gift shop. As Jeff entered, Lucille looked up before setting the teddy bear back in the original crib.

"Hey, where did you go?" Lucy approached Jeff, holding her arms out to take the baby from her husband.

"Mr. Alan here made a real mess of his diaper and baby wipes would not have sufficed. I had to give him a bath." Jeff gently rocked the baby, and swayed. Alan was calm right now, but interestingly enough he perked up when his mother was near. "What are you doing up honey?"

"I…I need to breastfeed, it's getting painful." Lucy's gaze flicked over to Alan and smiled at how much Alan seemed to perk up. He could smell his mother's milk in his presence and he decided that he was hungry.

"Okay, let me put him in a new diaper, and then you can feed him." Jeff noticed the pained grimace on Lucy's face…Alan hadn't been breastfeeding much the first week after his birth, but now he always seemed to be hungry and Lucy was producing a lot of milk, to the point of being in pain if Alan didn't feed right on schedule.

"Okay." Lucy retrieved the baby powder and stood beside Jeff, helping to put the nice smelling powder and a clean diaper on the baby. Jeff was threading Alan's arms into a clean pair of pajamas when Lucy leaned down to grab something. Alan started looking around, and began squirming. He whimpered when Lucy moved away. Jeff and Lucy both recognized the "I am hungry, please feed me" cry building up and they hurried to finish dressing the infant.

"Hold on little man, we need to get you dressed before you can eat." Jeff tried to keep the baby from kicking up too much of a fuss. But Alan was not going to take that lying down. He was hungry, and he was hungry now.

Lucy sensing Alan was about to have a meltdown, wasted no time in unbuttoning her nightgown. She quickly lifted Alan from the changing table before she maneuvered Alan's head up to her chest with Jeff's help. Alan's whimpers silenced immediately as he latched on to his mother and he'd begun to suckle noisily. Jeff guided Lucy over to the rocking chair and helped her to sit down. Lucy sighed slightly when Alan began nursing, '_crisis averted'_.

"Well, I'll leave you to the feeding." Jeff kissed Lucy on the top of her head and turned to leave. Lucy was usually embarrassed about breastfeeding in the presence of her husband or sons and would often times sneak from the room just to do so in peace, away from prying eyes and Jeff was respecting her boundaries.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jeff froze at Lucy's question. She had that tone to her voice, insinuating that if Jeff left right that moment…he _would_ be sleeping on the couch.

"I was going to let you feed Alan without me making you uncomfortable. I know you are embarrassed." Jeff kept his back turned and chuckled inwardly when he heard his still newborn son grunt and sigh with each suckle. The baby seemed to be very happy now that he was getting his mid-morning meal.

"Set one foot outside that door, and you can head for the couch. I want you to help me burp Alan; it will give you some more time to bond with him." Lucy replied with a playful admonishing tone. She squeaked when Alan growled…or more like gurgled angrily at the suggestion.

"Sounds like Allie want to keep you all to himself." Jeff had heard of babies that became extremely attached to their nursing mothers…almost becoming territorial over their moms. But normally that didn't occur until the child was weaned and was between the ages three and five.

"Well, he is just going have to deal with it. As embarrassing as breastfeeding is in front of you, I need to get used to it." Lucy bounced the nursing baby in her arms and giggled when he cracked an eye open at her…almost glaring at the suggestion of his dad remaining in the same room.

Alan suckled for several more minutes, until surprisingly he unlatched and began rooting. Assuming he was still hungry, Lucy switched him over to her other breast and found he was still hungry. Jeff pulled up a chair so that he sat in front of Lucy and both parents watched as Alan suckled. He was grunting noisily and every so often he would sigh loudly.

"My oh my. He has received the famous Tracy appetite." Lucy gently stroked Alan's small blonde head and smiled lovingly at Jeff. The doting father was gazing back in his wife's eyes and just grinned tiredly.

"I don't know about that. Maybe he is just doing you a favor and relieving some of the extra milk supply for you." Jeff reached out tentatively and stroked Alan's head as well. The infant just remained silent, nursing at a steady pace.

"Maybe, but I don't want to make him sick." Lucy gave her newest son a worried gaze before looking back up at her husband.

"He'll stop when he's full. Remember, he was asleep when it was time for his last feeding, so I'm sure he is probably famished." Jeff gently ran his hand down Alan's tiny curled back and both Lucy and Jeff couldn't help but to laugh when Alan unlatched and gave a healthy burp.

"Whoa, nice one little guy!" Jeff chuckled, and reached over to take the now satisfied baby from his wife…accepting a burp cloth and placing it on his shoulder. Placing Alan against his shoulder, Jeff got up to walk around the nursery, patting Alan steadily on the back trying to prompt another burp from the full baby.

Lucy buttoned her nightgown back up and swiftly stood to walk with Jeff. She walked beside her husband and newborn son and together the two of them cooed to the mini blonde. They decided to head back to their bedroom and settle back in for bed. After they closed the bedroom door, Jeff and Lucy both sat in the middle of their bed, Jeff holding Alan up in his lap, and continuing to pat his back eventually eliciting a very loud burp form the baby.

"Good boy Allie!" Lucy praised the baby for burping and she had to hide her amusement at the fact that Alan immediately began hiccupping.

"Aw, it's the first time he's ever gotten the hiccups before." Jeff cooed to Alan, murmuring softly as he started stroking Alan's back punctuating it with the occasional pat…trying to relieve the baby of his hiccups.

"Yep, hopefully it doesn't make him spit up anytime soon." Lucy retrieved a pacifier and wiggled it against Alan's lips, prompting him to accept it and suckle. He was now pacified for the remainder of the morning. Hopefully, anyway

"Go ahead and go back to sleep Jeff, I can take care of Allie now that he's been fed and changed." Lucy leaned her head against Jeff's shoulder before turning her head to kiss him on the cheek.

"It's okay Lucy. Why don't you and I just spend some time up with Allie? It's not often where we have a quiet moment these days unless the boys are away at school, but even then…usually I am at work or you are up folding laundry or tidying up the house." Jeff gently ran his fingers through Lucy's hair, before pulling her closer to place a kiss on her forehead.

A distressed whimper had Jeff and Lucy pulling apart to see Alan was fussing. Apparently he was not happy about not being included in the embrace with his parents…either that or he was being territorial over his mom being so close to his dad. Jeff picked up Alan from his lap, and placed him against his shoulder, patting his back in attempt to calm the fussing newborn.

"It's alright little guy, no need to get upset. Mommy and Daddy are both here." Jeff stifled a yawn while he comforted his youngest son. The newborn was still not set in a steady sleep pattern, so sometimes he'd stay awake for hours when most people were frolicking around in dream Ville.

"Sweetheart, you're tired and you need to go to work in the morning. Go to sleep, I can handle Allie on my own." Lucy placed a gentle hand on Jeff's shoulder, her brown eyes dancing at her husband's exhaustion.

"It's not fair on you darling, you spend all day with Alan and don't ever get a rest. I can go in in the afternoon…I don't need to go in the office in the morning." Jeff allowed himself a pout. He wanted to spend time with his baby boy too, regardless of the lack of sleep. He'd missed cradling his sons in his arms. He wanted to get some optimum cradling in while this last one was still small enough to carry around without fussing over not being able to walk.

"Alright, I propose a compromise. Let's go out to the kitchen to grab one of the cookies that the boys haven't yet devoured and we both sit up until Alan goes back to sleep." Lucy quirked an eyebrow up at Jeff, and he nodded at his beautiful wife.

"That works Lucy. That way we can both be equally exhausted tomorrow and I have a reason to leave the office early." Jeff continued to pat Alan on the back and he turned his head to kiss Alan on the crown of his head when the small babe snuggled closer to the warmth of his dad's body heat. His small hands gripping onto Jeff's pajama top like he'd finally accepted the older man in his life was there to stay.

"Deal. Then maybe we can ask your mom to come watch the kids while you and I get some rest, and I don't mean that kind of rest Jefferson so get your mind out of the gutter." Lucy made a '_zip it_' gesture at her husband's goofy grin. "I just had a baby not even three weeks ago; I am not doing it, not unless you want to add a sixth child to the increasing bloodline."

"No thank you sweetheart, five is good for me." Jeff didn't drop the smile on his face. When his wife mentioned rest, he'd automatically thought of treating his wife to a fancy dinner and some actual sleep, his mind never even strayed towards the gutter. "I would like to treat you like a queen with a little wining and dining though…nothing too over the top, just something to remind you of why I fell in love with you.

"Jeff, you could treat me to s'mores over a fire like you did on our first date and I would still be reminded of why I love you." Lucy winked at her husband, reminding him of the disaster that spelled their first date.

Jeff accidently got marshmallow in Lucy's hair and when washing it had failed to remove the sticky substance from her golden locks of hair, he'd resorted to cutting her hair to a pixie bob cut. How Jeff managed to get marshmallow in her hair was still a total mystery to Jeff and Lucy, but she thought he did a decent job cutting her hair that night. He'd been more upset over the loss of her hair than she had been. She'd laughed it off; he on the other hand wouldn't quit apologizing for days.

"Did you really have to bring that night up?" Jeff flushed in embarrassment over the incident. Lucy's hair had grown back, but it was still kind of a sore subject with Jeff, he loved his wife's blonde locks of hair, especially playing with the long luxurious strands of hair.

"I only did it because I love you." Lucy leaned up to kiss Jeff and was interrupted by a small gurgled hiccup. Glancing down at Jeff's shoulder both Lucy and Jeff discovered Alan had spit out his pacifier and was just hiccupping away – one right after the other.

Jeff increased the frequency of the pats to Alan's back with each hiccup until he'd built up a steady rhythm. Lucy leaned into Jeff, resting her head just above where Alan was resting and she gazed into his sapphire blue eyes. Alan had created a huge drool puddle on his father's sleep shirt and he kept poking his tongue out before releasing a large infantile yawn. Alan's eye began to drop slightly and Lucy reached up with a gentle hand and scratched the back of Alan's head with the tips of her fingers. Alan sporadically moved his head, before settling against the joint where his dad's head connected with his shoulder.

"Go back to sleep sweetheart." Lucy cooed softly to Alan.

"Perhaps we should sing a lullaby for him." Jeff murmured softly so as to not rouse the newborn.

Lucy nodded at Jeff to begin the lullaby and Jeff began to sing Hush Little Baby. Jeff continued to pat Alan on the back while he sang, before trading off the song to Lucy to continue singing. Lucy and Jeff both traded off for each verse, each singing softly to ease the newborn off into the realm of dreams. As they neared the end of the song, the husband and wife duo joined together to finish the song.

"…that horse and cart fall down. You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."

When Lucy and Jeff finished singing the lullaby they sat in total silence, afraid to speak for fear of awakening the slumbering newborn. He'd remained quiet during the lullaby, his hiccups coming to a halt midway through the song. Lucy piled up some pillows behind Jeff's back so he could recline back until they were sure Alan would remain asleep. He was curled as tightly as he could get into his father's shoulder slumbering soundly, and Lucy just gazed at the two enraptured and in love. It was the perfect Kodak moment, so perfect that Lucy retrieved her camera from her closet and snapped a quick photo of father and son.

Jeff looked exhausted and anyone who looked at that picture could tell he'd been asleep before cradling the newborn close. Lucy set her camera off to the side and went to remove Alan from his father's sleepy grasp. The mother giggled quietly when she'd discovered that Alan still had a tight hold on his father's sleep shirt, but Jeff gently unclasped Alan's fingers and the slumbering baby withdrew his hand from his father's. Pressing a swift, but gentle kiss on the crown of Alan's head, both Lucy and Jeff stood to tuck Alan into his bassinet.

"He is such a little cutie." Lucy murmured as she gently brushed her fingers through Alan's downy blonde hair.

"Yeah, we did good." Jeff leant down and placed another gentle kiss on Alan's head, and the infant stirred at the touch before sighing softly and settling into a deeper slumber. "Sleep tight little one."

Jeff and Lucy stood side by side simply watching Alan sleep, before both parents yawned themselves. Hearing Alan's soft breathing and watching him sleep was quickly making both parents tired. Wrapping a gentle hand around Lucy's waist, Jeff forced the both of them to break their loving gaze directed at their newest bundle of joy in favor of returning to bed before the zoo woke up for breakfast at six thirty in the morning. Easing themselves back under their coverlet, Jeff and Lucy turned off their lamps and returned to sleep.

"Good night Jeff." Lucy stifled a small yawn, before turning over to hold Jeff's hand and to gaze lovingly at her husband.

"Good night Lucy. I love you and I wanted to thank you for being such an amazing wife and mother. I don't know what I'd have done if I hadn't met you and started our perfect family." Jeff lifted Lucy's hand to his lips and kissed it gently, before pulling his wife close to cuddle with her.

"I love you too." Lucy leaned up and kissed the tip of Jeff's nose gently, before easing back down. "Now let's get some sleep, the boys will be up soon and I want to get a couple more hours before the circus begins."

"Right." Jeff and Lucy snuggled close, before their fatigued eyes slid closed.


	3. Little Boy Blue

"Scott, can you pick up your brother? I need to finish fixing dinner." Lucille Tracy leaned out into the dining room where her eldest son Scott sat playing a board game with his little brothers. Gordon was sitting in John's lap, because the five year old couldn't quite reach his _Monopoly_ token on his own. Virgil was sitting on his knees in his chair moving his token and John was holding Gordon securely to his lap, the small redhead squirming and eager for his turn.

"Sure thing, mom!" Scott stood up and went into the kitchen where the playpen sat with his fussy baby brother inside. "Aw, Allie…what's the matter?"

The tiny infant lay on his stomach in the playpen and had just started crying. At only four months old, he was still a small little guy. He could really only eat, sleep, mess his diaper and cry. Crying was right now his top priority. Scott leaned into the playpen and picked up his baby brother. It was a hot July afternoon, and the small infant was wearing only his diaper. Scott placed Alan against his shoulder and gently patted his back. The baby's face was red from crying. A couple tears were leaking from his eyes and Scott approached his mom to see if seeing their mom would calm the infant.

"Hey buddy, don't cry. Ssh." Scott whispered soothingly to the baby. However he just continued to cry. "Mom, what do you think his problem is?"

"Can you check his diaper? Maybe he needs to be changed." Lucille glanced over her shoulder at her ten year old and four month old sons.

"Yeah." Scott gently lifted the back of Alan's diaper and checked, before looking at the wetness indicator on the diaper. "Looks like he wet himself. I'll run up and change him for you mom."

"Thanks honey. Holler if you need help." Lucille gave her eldest a soft smile before turning back to the meal she was cooking.

Scott gently bounced the infant in his arms and patted him on the back. Walking through the dining room, he informed John to roll the dice for him and that he would be back shortly. Alan continued to cry. Scott walked up the stairs, not willing to run and slip going up.

"Little buddy. Stop crying…it's okay. Scotty will make it all better." Scott walked into the nursery and laid Alan down on a blanket on the floor. Scott was too short to put Alan on the changing table, so a blanket would have to do for now. The baby's chest heaved as his crying became more upset. Scott opened the box of baby wipes and grabbed a few to clean his baby brother and retrieved a new diaper.

Scott removed baby Alan's soiled diaper and quickly cleaned his now screaming baby brother. Scott fastened the fresh diaper on Alan yet the infant continued to cry. Tears now came down in torrents as the baby squeezed his eyes shut…loudly declaring his displeasure at whatever was upsetting him. This diaper change Scott considered a success as opposed to ones in the past, he hadn't been peed on by Alan this time…not since his dad had shown him the correct way to change Alan's diaper. The crying was a given during diaper changes though, Alan hated to have his diaper changed.

Scott grabbed Alan's pacifier from the dresser beside his crib and tried giving it to the baby. He immediately spit it out. Scott picked it and Alan up from the floor and went down to the kitchen to rinse the pacifier off. Can't exactly give his baby brother a pacifier that fell on the floor…that was plain unacceptable to the older boy.

Entering the kitchen, Scott stopped to watch his mom. She was stirring whatever was in the pan and was smiling softly. However, she didn't keep the smile when Alan let out a particularly loud cry, and she looked over her shoulder at Scott. The ten year old boy continued bouncing his baby brother in his arms, striding forward and turning on the cold tap. He held the pacifier under the water to rinse off whatever lint or carpet fuzz it picked up and shook it to get rid of the drops of water. Turning off the tap, Scott tried giving the pacifier to Alan again.

"Here's your binky Allie." Scott slipped it into Alan's mouth and this time the infant accepted the pacifier. He hiccupped a couple times, before whimpering. "That's it baby…you're such a good boy." Scott gently rubbed his cheek against his baby brother's soft blonde hair before leaving the kitchen.

Scott sat back down at the table to see that his brothers had in fact waited on him to continue the game. The two immediate youngest boys played footsies and John chuckled at Virgil and Gordon's antics. Scott shifted Alan's position in his arm to where he was lying on his back in the crook of Scott's arm, instead of leaning into his chest. Apparently that had been the wrong move because Alan soon spit out his binky again in favor of crying.

"What's wrong with him Scott?" John leaned down and picked up Alan's binky off the floor while his big brother tried to shush the crying infant. Scott didn't know what else to do, so he gently put one of his knuckles into Alan's mouth and wiggled his finger. Alan bit down on Scott's knuckle and Scott winced at the pressure. Thankfully the crying had ceased.

"I have no idea. But his bite hurts." Scott pulled his finger out of Alan's mouth and looked at what appeared to be a little indentation. Alan immediately began crying again at the lack of something to chew.

"Give him your knuckle again just to see if he stops." John covered his ears at his baby brother's loud cries. Virgil and Gordon both mimicked John's movements…neither liking how loud the baby could cry either.

Scott replaced his knuckle in Alan's mouth and like an on/off switch…the crying stopped. The ten year old winced when the baby bit down again. All of the boys looked at the infant and watched as he repeated a chewing motion…each time he bit down Scott would wince at the pressure. Alan's tears still flowed regularly, but the crying had quieted down. Now the only noise heard was what sounded like Alan blowing raspberries on his older brother's knuckle as he chewed.

"Is he eating your fin'er?" Gordon watched as his baby brother was apparently eating his eldest brother's finger.

"No, but he is chewing on it." Scott hissed when the baby bit down particularly hard. "Ow, that hurts!"

Alan began crying again and Scott removed his finger from Alan's mouth and gasped when he found what appeared to be blood on his finger. Scott inspected his knuckle but could not find where Alan had bitten him. There were little indentations where he bit down, but nothing indicating he had broken the skin. Panicking a little, Scott hurried to the kitchen.

"Mom I think Alan's hurt!" Scott hurried up to his mom's side and offered up his bawling baby brother when she turned to see what the problem was.

"What's the matter?" She took the infant from her ten year old son and checked him over. He didn't appear to be hurt.

"He was chewing on my finger and there was blood when I pulled my finger from his mouth." Scott showed his mom his finger where the blood was. Sure enough around the little indentations was a small amount of blood.

Lucille propped the infant up on her hip and strode over to the counter to set the crying baby on it. She bumped the tip of her finger against Alan's quivering lips to prompt him to open his mouth. Peering into his mouth, she saw the tip of a tooth sticking out of his gums. The worried mother sighed with relief before she smiled.

"He's okay Scotty. He is just teething is all, it's okay." Lucille cooed softly to calm her eldest from his panic.

"So why was he bleeding?" Scott didn't understand the concept of teething. He knew he and his younger brothers had done it when they were babies, but he didn't know how it happened.

"His first tooth just broke through." Lucille motioned with her head for Scott to follow her and she went into the bathroom. She had Scott sit on the edge of the tub and she placed the still crying baby in his arms before turning to retrieve some baby orajel. "Hold him still for me; this will help to numb the pain."

Lucille squeezed a small amount of gel out on the tip of her finger and took advantage of the fact that her infant's mouth was open in a scream. Gently she spread the gel over the baby's gums and continued to rub his sore gums. Now that she was looking, she could see the start of another tooth. It had another week or two to go, but the small baby was about to go through a lot of discomfort.

"There we go. All better now." Lucille crooned to the baby as his cries abated. He hiccupped and sniffled. His small angelic face was puffed up and red from his crying, and Lucille picked him up and kissed his temple. "Who's mommy's big boy? You are!"

"Is that bad?" Scott asked his mom as she hummed to his baby brother. The crying had drained all of his energy, and the combination of crying, pain relief and his mother's humming was enough to ease the baby off to the land of dreams.

"Is what bad?" Lucille laid Alan against her shoulder and smoothed his hair against his head. She looked at Scott to see the concern on his face.

"That he is teething. Is that bad if he bleeds?" Scott stood up from the edge of the tub and looked up at his mom.

"No, his teething only means he is becoming a big boy now." Lucille gently patted Alan's back when he whimpered softly. He was not completely asleep, but he was well on his way.

"Will he keep crying?" Scott had a grimace on his face. He couldn't stand how loud his baby brother's cries were.

"At first yes, but as his teeth come in the crying will stop. I think this first one was so bad because it was his first tooth." Lucille left the bathroom and walked back into the kitchen. Gently she eased her infant from her shoulder and laid him back down in his playpen. He was sound asleep. "Let's go into the dining room to clear the table. Daddy will be home shortly and I want to have the table ready so we can eat."

"Okay." Scott followed his mom and together the two of them entered the dining room to see John, Virgil and Gordon looking bored. They had not yet finished their game and the three younger kids had been waiting patiently for Scott to return to resume their game.

"Okay boys, time to put the game away. Can you help me get everything ready for dinner?" Lucille decided to involve all her sons minus the infant in helping prepare for dinner.

"Yes mom." John removed Gordon from his lap and set the five year old on the floor before getting out of his chair and going towards the kitchen to get the silverware. He grabbed Gordon and Virgil's shoulders when the two youngsters began to run ahead, but all three of them stopped when their mom spoke up.

"Be quiet when you go in the kitchen. Alan is sleeping in his playpen." Lucille held her index finger in front of her lips, smiling softly at all of her boys.

"We will mom. Thanks for the heads up." John directed his two little brothers in front of him, reminding them to be quiet when they entered the kitchen.

Scott soon entered the kitchen to help his brothers bring out the plates. He quietly approached the playpen and peered inside at his slumbering baby brother. He tilted his head to the side when he noticed his baby brother's soft downy hair was sticking to his face. His cheeks were pink, and he was beginning to wake up. Scott murmured and cooed to the infant softly, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding when the baby settled back into a comfortable sleep. A hand on his shoulder made him jump. Whirling around he was relieved to see his dad.

"Hey there, Scotty. Have you been a big helper to your mom while I was at work?" Jefferson Tracy was crouched down beside his eldest son and smiled warmly at seeing his youngest child sound asleep.

"Yeah, but Allie wasn't very happy. He cried a lot all day today as well as this last week." Scott whispered so as to not awaken his slumbering baby brother.

"Well, your brothers got the table set up for dinner. Let's go eat while Alan takes his nap." Jeff stood up and put a hand on Scott's shoulder steering him in front of him towards the dining room.

The family of four sat at the dinner table and began to eat. It was the first real meal they'd had as a family in over a week. Jeff had just gotten home from a weeklong business trip and he'd been made to go in exchange for extended paternity leave during the unexpected birth of his youngest son. Lucille couldn't do it on her own, and Jeff informed his small company that he would be out longer than expected to help his family adjust to having a new baby in the house. Lucy grabbed the tongs and started to lift some salad out onto Jeff's plate that he'd handed to her and like normal everybody was given some of the leafy greens.

"So how was your business trip darling?" Lucy began; she shushed Gordon when he started to protest being given salad.

"It went swimmingly. I met with the executives and they've agreed to merge their business with mine. We worked on our marketing strategies and I believe we should be able to announce our merging in the next month or so." Jeff cast a stern look at Scott when he merely played with his salad, not wishing to eat the green food.

"Mom, can I have some more salad?" John stared at his empty plate before looking at Virgil's own empty salad plate; both the second and third eldest liked their veggies, whereas currently the eldest and second youngest despised the organic foodstuffs.

"You're weird." Scott pulled a face at John's love of vegetables.

"That's not a nice thing to say to your brother Scott." Jeff admonished Scott for his comment. "Apologize to your brother."

"I'm sorry Johnny." Scott looked abashed during his apology, smiling when John nodded his acceptance of the apology.

"What do you say to your brother John?" Lucy gently prompted John as she placed another small scoop of the leafy greens on his salad plate, smiling proudly at her little blonde stargazer when he tore into his salad.

"I accept your 'pology Scotty." John spoke around the salad in his mouth, before he'd completed chewing.

The family ate in relative silence. It was only when Lucy stood to go retrieve the dessert she'd made that Alan seemed to awaken and begin crying loudly once again. Jeff stood up with Lucy and made his way into the kitchen where Alan's playpen was. Alan had rolled over from his stomach to his back and his face was red from crying.

"Hey little guy, what's the matter?" Jeff stooped to lift Alan from his playpen, before he nestled the screaming infant in the crook of his arm.

"He's started teething." Lucy stood up from the fridge, holding a chocolate crème pie. She placed it on the counter, before going to stand by Jeff. "He's been crying all day, and one of his teeth just broke through about an hour before you returned from work."

Jeff smoothed Alan's hair back from his face and frowned when he felt the warmth radiating back into his palm. Alan continued to cry, tears leaking from his eyes. Lucy took Alan from Jeff and attempted to soothe the upset infant, before she grabbed his binky and placed it in his mouth. Alan immediately spit it out and continued to cry, Jeff stooped to pick up the pacifier and went to the sink to rinse it off. Shaking the excess water off the binky much like Scott had done earlier, Jeff returned and tried placing it in Alan's mouth…this time keeping his hand close to catch the pacifier should Alan spit it back out again.

This time however Alan accepted the pacifier, sucking on it contentedly. Jeff took Alan back from his wife to allow her to cut the pieces of pie for those that still resided at the table. Alan whimpered for a few minutes but calmed slightly when his dad began to bounce him. Alan puffed up his cheeks, before raising a tiny fist to scrub at his eyes.

"It would seem he's running a bit of a fever." Jeff placed the back of his hand against Alan's cheek and approached Lucy who turned to set the small slices of pie on their plates. Lucy placed her cool hand against Alan's warm cheek and frowned at the warmth. Gazing outside, Lucy briefly wondered if the heat from the afternoon had contributed to Alan's slight raise in temperature.

"We'll keep an eye on it. It doesn't seem too high right now." Lucy handed Jeff a plate to carry, before she carried the five remaining plates to the table.

Jeff followed Lucy through the kitchen to the dining room. Alan seemed content to suck on his pacifier, the occasional tear made its way down his cheek but other than that he was quiet. Jeff balanced Alan on his knee and shuffled his leg up and down to bounce Alan gently. Jeff kept a gentle, but firm arm wrapped around Alan and he groaned when Alan spit out his pacifier on the ground in favor of chewing on his own fist.

"How long has he been spitting out his pacifier?" Jeff nodded at Scott when the ten year old picked up the binky and laid it upon the table top.

"Since yesterday. For some reason he's begun refusing to suck on it, he's taken a liking to chewing on his own fist or somebody's knuckle." Lucy motioned with her head towards Scott who nodded and continued the conversation.

"Yeah, his bite hurts." Scott glanced at his knuckle where Alan had been chewing on it earlier and shrugged when he didn't find any puncture wounds or any tell-tale signs that his baby brother had been using him as a chew toy.

Alan started whimpering almost immediately after Scott made that statement. Jeff resumed bouncing Alan in an effort to quiet the infant's disgruntled cries. Alan shoved his fist back into his mouth and started to chew again, however each time he bit down he'd whimper and cry out. Jeff set his fork down on his plate and removed Alan's fist from his mouth before flipping the infant over onto his back. Wiggling his index finger against Alan's lips, Jeff managed to prompt Alan's mouth to open so he could peer into the teething baby's mouth.

Sure enough Alan's gums were slightly red and swollen from the tooth breaking through. He gently rubbed his finger around on Alan's gums, feeling for any other locations of teeth that had begun to surface. Alan began to chew on Jeff's finger, the small baby wincing each time he bit down particularly hard on the swollen area of gums.

"Poor little guy. Teething is no fun…is it?" Jeff removed his finger from Alan's mouth to stroke his thumb across Alan's warm cheek. "Sweetheart, do we have the teething rings in Alan's nursery…or did we get rid of them after Gordon was done teething?"

"I donated them to welfare. We didn't need them anymore and…if you'll recall we hadn't planned on…" Lucy didn't need to complete her statement, for Jeff understood what she'd been getting at.

Alan's pregnancy had been a total shock and surprise to the both of them. Jeff had surprised Lucy with tickets on a two week cruise to the Bahamas for their anniversary and Grant and Ruth, Jeff's parents jumped at the chance to keep the boys all to themselves. Unfortunately, Lucy who'd been on birth control had just gotten over a bad cold, with the help of antibiotics. Neither realized they'd have to take extra precautions should they become intimate…then low and behold they'd gotten the shock of their lives thirteen weeks after taking that cruise.

"Well after dessert, I'll load Alan up in his car seat and see if a trip in the car will calm him down. I'll also stop by the store to pick up a couple teething rings for him to chew on." Jeff lightly brushed the tip of his finger across some of the chocolate crème pie before allowing Alan to suck on his finger.

"Jefferson Tracy, you better not give him too much or you get to deal with the baby who has an upset tummy." Lucy chided Jeff, the father grinning innocently at his wife.

"A little chocolate never hurt anybody. Besides, I just wanted to see if he'd like it." Jeff watched Alan's eyes light up at the minute taste of the yummy treats he could have when he got older. "That's all I'm going to give him, don't worry."

"Just like with John, I swear…sometimes I think you enjoy turning our sons into hyperactive little fiends. Mark my words; you have just created another chocoholic." Lucy scolded again this time with a smile on her face.

"Nah, I think they come by it naturally. You yourself are a chocolate aficionado, and an adorable blonde like Alan and John…yeah I think they come by it naturally." Jeff chuckled at his wife's playful glare. He thought she was so cute when she got mad sometimes.

"Mama, what's an a-fiction-ado?" Virgil inquired from his spot at the table. He sat equal to John and Scott, because of his booster seat, same as Gordon. His mop of chestnut brown hair curled slightly at the ends, his brown eyes staring in confusion at the woman that knew everything.

"It's not a-fiction-ado…it's called aficionado. And an aficionado is a person who appreciates or likes something in particular. Mommy and Johnny love chocolate for dessert, which makes the both of us chocolate aficionados, same way that you enjoy the piano or your art." Lucy smiled in amusement at Virgil's question, who couldn't find her little artist a cutie?

"Oh…why not just say you love chocolate?" Virgil pondered aloud. Jeff and Lucy covered their mouths to hide their smiles at Virgil's simple solution.

"It's just a fancy way of saying we love chocolate. Don't worry about it dear." Lucy scratched Virgil's unruly mop with the tips of her fingers, he leaned into the scratch before digging back into his pie.

Jeff stared at his pie longingly; he was currently unable to hold his fork. Alan was lying on his back in Jeff's left arm with a finger from Jeff's right hand shoved in his mouth and he was gnawing away on Jeff's finger. Alan's bite really did hurt; he had quite the strong bite for a four month old baby. After one particularly strong bite, Alan began to cry again. Jeff's heart went out to his youngest, teething with the first tooth was always worse.

"It's okay little guy." Jeff cooed after removing his finger from Alan's mouth. Scott being super brother left his place at the table, his pie completely gone to try and cheer up his baby brother.

"Aw Allie-gator please don't cry." Scott held his hands out to accept his baby brother from his father upon seeing his dad's partially untouched pie. "Let's go put some clothes on for the trip into town."

Jeff relinquished his hold on Alan into Scott's careful hold. The ten year old was a natural at being a big brother. He knew some of the best ways to soothe his little brothers during a tantrum or in Alan's case fuss. When Alan was placed in Scott's hold, Alan started to gnaw on Scott's shoulder. The older boy just smiled when his baby brother quit crying.

"That's all you wanted huh Allie? Come on; let's go get your elephant to chew on." Scott left the dining room with his baby brother in tow, and all was quiet again.

"I think Scott needs to publish his methods for calming fussy baby brothers." Lucy giggled at Jeff's statement.


End file.
